Chargers fans watch glumly as the Panthers take control early and build a 31-0 lead by the end of the third quarter. The paid attendance Sunday was 53,832, the Bolts’ lowest since 2004. Sean M. Haffey • U-T

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Chargers fans watch glumly as the Panthers take control early and build a 31-0 lead by the end of the third quarter. The paid attendance Sunday was 53,832, the Bolts’ lowest since 2004. Sean M. Haffey • U-T

They booed a Philip Rivers public service announcement on the Jumbotron. They celebrated a first down wildly like it was 1994. They cleared out of Qualcomm Stadium as their team’s only touchdown was being reviewed in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers fans who showed up Sunday were done.

Now, their team is — officially.

A foregone conclusion, alas, became reality when San Diego was eliminated from playoff contention, the franchise’s third straight failed berth. It came in emphatic fashion, as the Chargers fell behind the Panthers 21-0 in the first quarter and possessed neither the protection nor playmaking to respond in a 31-7 loss.

To call Sunday the low may be shortsighted — there have been many — but this gets filed among the worst of them with the home fans playing a concert of boos in the first quarter and serving encore after encore in response to their team’s mistakes, right on through the expiration of the regulation clock.

“Yeah, you hear it,” linebacker Bront Bird said. “Fans are fans. They’re not going to like you when you’re not winning. They’ll love you when you’re winning. Can’t really play into that too much.”

In a pregame show at center field, about 15 minutes before kickoff, poor pop signer Brooke White sang some holiday songs with hardly an audience.

The paid attendance of 53,832 was the Chargers’ lowest since 2004 when they had 52,101 for the Jaguars. This game was the fourth blackout of the season, the franchise’s most in a single year since 2004.

For so long, they had nothing to cheer about.

The Panthers won the coin toss. No boos yet.

The Panthers returned the opening kickoff to the 20. Thirteen plays and 80 yards later, ex-Chargers running back Mike Tolbert was swinging his hips in an end-zone celebration. Then the crowd began, providing him the background music.

It didn’t stop.

The Chargers took the field and, despite being at home, each of their starting tackles was flagged for a false start. On first-and-15, Rivers was sacked for the first of six times and fumbled. Carolina recovered.

Four plays later, Tolbert was celebrating once more with his second touchdown. The stadium soundtrack repeated again.

The Panthers would force San Diego to go three-and-out, and not even a tipped pass could stop the onslaught. Running back DeAngelo Williams caught a deflection and scampered for a 45-yard score.

The music continued.

In the second quarter, Chargers outside linebacker Larry English tried to stop it when attempting to block a punt. He only made it louder, leveling punter Brad Nortman to be docked a 15-yard penalty for roughing.

“I think it was (a good call) by the ref,” English said. “I wanted to make a play, especially being down like we were. I came free and was within blocking distance of it, and I just went for it. He just happened to get it off before I could get there.”

The Chargers’ 164 yards of net offense was their lowest since managing 96 against Denver in 2003. Of the six times Rivers was sacked, four resulted in fumbles, two of which were lost.

The last of them came in the fourth quarter.

San Diego had scored a touchdown, a 9-yard catch by tight end Antonio Gates, on the previous possession. Interrupting an attempt to build on it, Rivers was strip-sacked, and one Chargers veteran had an expression near the sideline that said it all.

He placed his hands on his hips, raised his head toward a cloudy sky and, with an exacerbated look, began shaking side to side.

“It’s one of them years,” tight end Randy McMichael said in a postgame locker room that, like the crowd, emptied quickly. “It’s like every time, something happens. It’s one of them years.”